"Call again," I said.
When Skippy said black, I put the fifty on red. Black won it.
"Let's go," I said, and led the kid out of there.
He was looking puzzled. "How come—"
"How come I played to lose?" I patted his shoulder. "Sonny, you got a lot to learn. Jake's is no fair game. This was only a dry run."
Then I got rid of him, because I had something to do.
Henry came across. He even looked embarrassed. "I figured," he said, "uh, I figured that the expenses—"
"Save it," I told him. "All I want is my split."
He handed it over, but I kept my hand out, waiting. After a minute he got the idea. He reached down inside the waistband of his pants, pulled loose the tape that held the dimes to his skin and handed over the radio receiver. "That's it, huh?" he said.